All I Need
by sdbubbles
Summary: "If nothing is safe then I don't understand; you call me your boy but I'm trying to be the man; one more day and it's all slipping with the sand; you touch my lips and grab the back of my hand; the back of my hand..." - 'All I Need' by Mat Kearney. In the height of disaster, can everyone save the ones the love? Serena and Edward know what it's like, but Jac is about to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a slightly bizarre idea. It's going to flit between now and another period of time, so just bear with me :P**

**Sarah x**

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Serena watched Edward slyly as he stared out the window at the end if the ward for just a moment too long. The storm clouds were swirling around the sky. "Edward." He didn't turn. "Oi! Earth to Edward!" she called to him as she came up behind him. He finally turned to face her, and she saw that slightly ashamed look in his face. She could see a distant fear in his eyes that was only ever triggered by one event.

"Sorry. I was just-"

"I know," she cut him off. "Don't worry about it."

"I might go and get some bread and milk and stuff for the staff room," he mused quietly. Well. That little quirk definitely hadn't disappeared. "You know, just in case."

"We're in England. We're perfectly safe."

"Look at the colour of the sky though."

She looked out the window to find a strange red tinge to the sky. "It's just because it's about to get dark," she dismissed his fear. She saw that look in his eyes and groaned. "Look, if it's going to put your mind at rest, knock yourself out. Just get me some chocolate while you're at it."

He nodded gratefully and Serena watched as he strode nervously and almost fearfully off the ward. The last thing she needed on a night shift was for Edward to go loco on her over a little rain. Her ex-husband was always a handful when the weather deteriorated.

"Have you hit your ex on the head or something?" Jac Naylor asked Serena loudly, sauntering onto the ward holding a cookie and a hot chocolate. "He's just asked me if there's anything I need from the shop for tonight. I'm more than capable of getting my own cake, thank you."

Serena grinned uneasily. "Just ignore him. I'll reign him in. He's taking the weather forecast a little too much to heart, I fear," she smiled, leaning against the nurses' station. "He gets jumpy when the weather turns nasty."

"Oh, yeah," Jac frowned. "It's supposed to be a storm tonight, isn't it?"

"Don't remind me," sighed Serena. "Not only does it bring the country to a standstill, it makes my husband think the world's about to end," she rambled as she searched through the papers in the filing trays for some blood results that clearly hadn't arrived yet.

"Ex-husband."

"What?" Serena asked as she turned back to Jac.

"He's your ex-husband."

"What did I say?"

"You called him your husband."

"Sorry."

Jac smiled a worryingly knowing smirk. As much as Edward irritated Serena, this was his one obstacle in life – the only thing she was never going to hold against him. He was like that for a reason. She had watched it happen, experienced it with him. She'd woken to the same horrific day, went to sleep that night in the same crowded, damp resource-turned-refuge centre. So she understood. She didn't have the heart to tell him off, but she did think he had to tone it down a little.

Jac was searching Serena's face; she could feel those pale blue eyes piercing her. "Is he OK? He seems a bit on edge."

"He's fine," Serena lied. She knew he wasn't. He wouldn't be until it passed with the promise that nobody was hurt. "He will be fine." Jac didn't ask anymore questions but Serena knew better than to assume the redhead had swallowed what she had been told. "Why are you on AAU anyway?"

"You would like Jonny Maconie to keep breathing, wouldn't you?" Jac checked. Serena nodded. "Then you'll give me a break down here for a while, before I strangle him. I'm telling you, unless I'm paged for theatre or an emergency, I'm not going back up there until quitting time."

Serena laughed. She knew what Jac felt like – Edward had been almost unbearably protective while she was carrying Eleanor. She had fallen pregnant two months after they returned to the UK, and a still quite traumatised Edward had been convinced he was going to lose his family before it was even formed. She often wondered if that fear in itself was what made him cheat on her. But she had needed someone or something to blame, and Edward was the easiest option, rather than try and analyse what went on in his mind.

"You can sit in my office if you want," Serena offered kindly. "Or kick Nurse Carter off that chair. It's about time she did some actual work for a change."

"Happily," Jac smiled. She strode around the desk until she was stood in front of Mary-Claire, who looked up. "Hop it, missy," Jac ordered the nurse. Serena smirked as the Irishwoman jumped out of the chair and gave it to Jac. Whether it was out of fear or politeness, Serena wasn't quite sure, but it did the trick. She went off to work. "So. How's the marital nightmare treating you?"

"Put it this way. The number of wise cracks he comes up with every day, I'm amazed I have had the self-restraint not to cut his tongue out," grumbled Serena.

Jac snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "Why did you marry him if he annoys you so much?"

"Because once upon a time I was in love with him," Serena admitted quietly and honestly, unflinchingly so, which was a rarity for her. She remembered the burning love she used to feel for him. She remembered the white hot pain of thinking she had lost him. She remembered the searing anger of actually losing him to stupidity. Now she didn't even know if she loved him or hated him.

She went off to deal with the patient in bed eight and when she returned, Jac was falling asleep in her chair. Serena didn't have the heart to wake her so she kept an eye on her so the woman didn't hurt her neck.

After half an hour, Edward had returned with three large supermarket bags. "Oh, for God's sake, Edward!" Serena exclaimed, taking one from him and looking inside. Bread, milk, crisps, ready meals, cans of soup. "It's one night. You're not going to need all that."

"There's not just me though," he reminded her that they were not the only two people here tonight. In Edward's mind everyone was in danger. She accepted that. But his behaviour could become quite bizarre.

"This is going to be a _long_ night," she sighed as she followed him to the staff room to put all this away. He wasn't speaking, concentrating on setting each item in a sensible and accessible place. She went to take the milk carton to the fridge but he batted her hand away. "Edward," she warned tiredly. He ignored her and crossed the room to the fridge. "Edward." He didn't even look at her, his mind set on upholding his and everyone else's safety. She grabbed his arm to get his attention. "Edward," she repeated again when he turned his head. "I know you're scared."

"Aren't you?" he asked her, handing her the chocolate that had been the condition on which he was allowed to the shop.

"No."

That was not exactly true; even though she didn't freak out like he did, she still felt uneasy and worried when the weather became dangerous. But she wouldn't let it show. For one thing, people would wonder why, and she didn't want to go there.

"I wish I was more like you," he sighed as he sat down in a chair.

Serena sat on the table. "No, you don't," she contradicted him. "You might be an idiot but you're kind and friendly. Anyone sees me, they run away. You don't want to be like me." He looked a little surprised by the admittance that she was far from perfect, and that she was hardly endearing. "No, you just keep being you. Antlophobia and all."

He smiled slightly before he warned her, "You do realise I'm going to end up make this shift a living nightmare for you?"

Serena smiled softly down on her ex-husband. "Yes. But don't worry about it. Just try and keep a lid on it in front of Jac. I don't want you getting her uptight," she cautioned him, her eyebrow raised. It was clear Jac had no intention of returning to Darwin unless there was an emergency and Serena couldn't really blame her; if Jonny was anything like Edward had been while she was pregnant with Eleanor, it was a miracle Jac hadn't killed him yet.

"Has she actually fallen asleep?" Edward asked. Serena nodded. "Jeez. She must be exhausted."

"I did tell her to give up the night shifts," she recalled a conversation she had with Jac the week before. It had ended in Jac saying in no uncertain terms that pregnancy would not change her shift pattern at all.

He stood up and resumed unpacking the groceries. "Don't you ever think about it?" he asked her quietly, lining the tins up at the back of the counter rather than in the cupboards. Serena took a step towards him.

"I try not to."

"Me too."

Just because she tried her best not to let her memory wander didn't mean that she couldn't remember it. She could remember the smell of the rain and the sound of the wind. She always attempted to block it out, yes, but she remembered. She would always remember.

She came to stand next to Edward and linked her hand with his, letting her head lean against his arm. "It'll be OK," she promised him quietly. Normally she would keep her distance but tonight was different. Tonight they shared an event they were both forever haunted by, and she knew he was trying to be strong but he needed to lean on her.

Serena closed her eyes as she felt Edward's lips touch her head, seeking comfort in her. She couldn't deny him that.

The first of the rain hit the window; Serena opened her eyes at the sound, shuddering internally at the memory of the rattling of the glass against the force of the torrent that had fallen that day. "We'll be OK," he agreed, but he didn't sound convinced. She heard that layer of fear still present in his voice. To the untrained ear he would have sounded fine, but she had heard that waver in his words all too often.

"It's just a little bit of rain," Serena said, though she knew it was more than that; there had been warnings distributed across the area for flooding but she had been hoping it was the usual British overreaction to a bit of water.

"Promise me something." The words made her look up at him. He looked unsure as he said, "If anything happens, promise me we'll stick together." She nodded her head silently. She didn't even have to think about it.

She looked out the window again and watched as the rain grew heavier, sheeting down from the dimming sky. He was terrified; he was trying to play it down but she saw it anyway. This had happened every time there had been a storm while they were married – the stocking up on food, watching the weather and the news almost obsessively, sandbagging the house, even. Keeping Eleanor in his arms until it was over, for fear of having to escape and not being able to get to her. He had a psychological problem here, but it was hardly surprising.

Little did he know that she shared the same problem on a smaller scale – she was able to control it, just as she was with everything else she felt. Edward, however, was a completely different person. He had no discipline, hence the locum jobs and the multiple divorces. She just never thought he still reacted like this. She had thought that even he would have learned to control it after all these years but obviously he had not mastered it. He was nowhere near as bad as he used to be though. He hadn't dragged Eleanor to where he could watch her, at least.

She smiled up at him in an attempt to comfort him but she could tell it had had little effect. Whether it was with due cause or not, he was frightened and wound up, and trying to hide it, and he had become her responsibility. After all, who else would look after him here?

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**Hope this is alright!  
Please feel free to review and tell me what you're thinking of it!  
Sarah x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is where I'm starting to complicate this. I was going to start this part of the story at a later point but I wanted to start from the start - exactly how Serena and Edward ended up in where they did in the first place. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed!**

**Sarah x**

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**June 4****th**** 1994**

Edward watched Serena as she answered the phone. Having just finished Harvard, she had applied for several jobs and the phone had been ringing daily with offers over the past week. From Alaska to Arizona and back again, she had at least half a dozen offers. The Naval Hospital in Bethesda had actually approached her – not the other way around.

She was even considering joining the military. She was considering moving to Canada. She was considering moving up to Alaska. She was the leader; he just followed. She was the decision-maker, the breadwinner, the realist, his backbone, his sense and his light. She gave him courage he didn't know he had, and he adored her for it.

"Hello," she said. He watched her intently as she said, "I see. And when would I start?" There was a slight pause. "Well, I'm sure I could be set up in a fortnight." She was keen; this must have been the one in Georgia, the one she was really after. The smile of on her face told him all he needed to know. He was moving to Georgia with her. "Thank you. OK, bye!"

She placed the phone back on the hook with a wide grin. "Macon?" he asked her.

"Yep," she smiled. "General surgery."

He stood up and kissed her. "Well done," he smiled. In all honesty, he couldn't wait to get out of Massachusetts; he felt like he had stopped here too long. "My beautiful, brilliant wife." Her cheeks turned pink at the compliment, just as they always did. He hugged her tight, reminding himself she was too good for him. That he was lucky to have her. Why she had chosen him, he would never understand. Of every man she had met at Harvard in their several years there, she had married him, the one who couldn't handle a permanent job and couldn't sit still willingly. He would never understand it but he was very glad she saw something she loved in him, even if he wasn't quite sure himself of what that thing actually was.

"We have to find a house," she said. It wasn't the massive obstacle he knew she saw it to be. This house would be easy to sell, and there was bound to be one in or near Macon. "We have to find you a job."

"I'm easy," he smiled into her hair. "I can find a job anywhere." It was completely true – he had always had the fortune of being flexible and easy to employ. He got along easily with everyone, so employers had no issues with extending locum contracts for him.

"Are you OK with this?" she asked his chest. "Georgia's a long way."

He put her at arm's length and sorted her hair, pushing it behind her ears gently. "I would follow you anywhere, Serena. Even Georgia." Her smile was bright and falsely optimistic. He planned on building a life with her, and a family if she wanted it. England, Scotland, Massachusetts, Alaska, Texas, Oregon California, Georgia...anywhere she wanted. And if she had wanted to work as a civilian for the military – a plan she had seriously considered when offered a job at Bethesda – he would have supported her. Even if she had chosen to join the military itself.

She reached up for his face, her warm fingers against his cheeks. "I love you, Edward," she said. He smile had faded, and he knew that her excitement had quickly worn off to reveal her stressed nature.

"And I love you." Serena had a strange look about her. The kind he didn't like to see. It told him she was seeing things that weren't there, that she was stressing over things that hadn't even happened yet. That might never happen anyway. "What are you thinking? I thought you wanted this job."

"I've not got a good feeling about this," she confessed. She sat down on the sofa and started twisting her hair between her fingers; it was a sure sign that she was worried. It was her tell when she was lying, her giveaway when she was anxious, her tell-tale sign when she was nervous or embarrassed...she was never aware she did it. "It's too easy."

"What do you mean?" he sighed, sitting down next to her. He pulled her hands from her hair.

"Just that. It's too easy. One interview and two weeks' waiting?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "_Nothing_ is that easy."

Edward smiled. "It is when you're Serena Campbell, and you're beautiful, intelligent, witty and charming," he pointed out. "This was the job you wanted most."

"I know but..." she trailed away. He could see that, now she had the job, she was nervous and slightly fearful, probably thinking something had to go wrong. She was never much of an optimist, but she had never been a pessimist either. She had always looked at the reality in front of her and accepted it. "Oh, just ignore me," she moaned. "I'm being silly."  
"Nothing is going to go wrong, OK?" he said to her. "I won't let it."

She laughed. "Believe it or not, my love, you are not the ruler of the universe."

He pressed his lips into hers, feeling her kiss him back as she sought reassurance from him. "Maybe not. But you know I would never let anything happen to you." Her eyes were distant and still worried, not put at ease by his promise to keep her safe and well. "What is it you think is going to happen?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel a bit weird about it. Maybe it's just because I convinced myself I wasn't getting it and now I think there must be some kind of catch." Edward just sighed. This was Serena all over – she didn't believe that anything came for free in this life, even when a person was as skilled and intelligent as she was. She believed the world had to balance itself out, that for everything good that happened to a person there had to be a negative event too.

"You're a right little cynic," he smirked lightly. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Um, everything?" she retorted. "You can spend your whole life building something from nothing just for it all to get knocked down in a day," she explained.

"Build it anyway," he said. "You can't give up your perfect job just because something _might_ go wrong, now, can you?" He touched her face lightly, his fingertips lingering on her lips. "For such a brilliant woman, you say some completely illogical things."

He saw the dark clouds forming in her eyes; she was doubting what she wanted because she had it. He could see that she was scared of the move and the shift in lifestyle. She would never admit to that and he wasn't about to try and force her, but she was talking like it was the worst idea in the world, even though rationality said it was just a new job with a new house in a new town in a new state. Logically, it was nothing that they hadn't done before, but they hadn't made that move together. This time they were moving from Massachusetts to Georgia as a single unit. And that, he realised, was terrifying to her.

"I'm being silly, aren't I?" she smiled slightly. To view it as silly probably screamed that he didn't really know his wife, but he did think she was being slightly silly. He had always been care free and positive but she was unflinchingly realistic, and anticipated hard knocks and setbacks, often obsessing over them until they occurred.

"Little bit," he grinned. "And anyway. We have each other," he reminded her. He leaned in and kissed her gently, feeling her anxiety melt away. She was such a tense person that she worried about everything humanly possible. If it was even a remote possibility, she would worry about it. Half the time she kept quiet, but she still worried; he could always see it a mile away. "Now," he asserted, his hand resting against her soft face. "You stop worrying and you look forward to it. It's an adventure. Everything is just an adventure."

"Your optimism is sickening," she said, but he saw the smile twitching on her lips.

"Your realism is depressing," he retorted with a smirk. "I'm going to find an estate agent," he added, standing up to look for the phone book that was never there when they needed it.

Serena sat there with an odd glint in her eyes. "I've got a better idea. There's one a couple of blocks from here that Kate used when she moved to Memphis," she explained. She reached for the car keys from the coffee table. "I'm driving," she stated.

"No, you're not. It's my turn to drive," he said. He knew just how childish that sounded – that was exactly why he said it. Though Serena loved to moan about his juvenile tendencies, he knew they amused her.

She danced towards the door the long way around, behind the coffee table and the sofa, dangling the keys in front of him as she opened it and twirled away; he ran after her and grabbed her around the waist, his arms tight around her. "Edward!" she squealed loudly. The high-pitched noise echoed through the garden, the sun beating down on them as he pulled her down to the warm grass.

"Give me the keys," he ordered her. He pinned her down, straddled across her with her hands resting on his chest.

"No," she giggled. He kissed her neck, her sweet laugh in his ear. "No, Edward, don't!" she protested loudly. Her self-control didn't last long, though, and she was soon laughing as she kissed him; he knew she was trying to distract him from taking the keys but her grip on them was loose. He took them from her with ease. "That's not fair!" she accused. He just grinned and helped her up to her feet. Brushing the grass off her, he looked around when he felt the presence of another.

The elderly woman who lived next door was standing at her fence with a smile. "It's always lovely to see a couple so obviously in love," she commented, pushing her shoulder-length grey hair behind her ears.

Edward just smiled. "Do you need anything while we're out?" he offered, just as they did every time they headed out and she was in her garden. She was a lovely woman who had sent her two sons to help unpack the removal van when Edward and Serena had moved into this house.

She thought for a moment before she answered, "I could so with some coffee, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course," he replied. He had bought coffee for her before and so knew exactly which brand and strength she used. By now she knew better than to offer him money for something as insignificant.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Serena smiled, wriggling slightly as he pulled her into his side and kissed her hair with a smile. She giggled and wormed away from him, jumping back for fear of him turning into a child again and pulling her down to the ground.

He went to the car, waving the keys in front of Serena teasingly, just far enough away that her attempts to swipe them were in vain. He started the engine and put his seatbelt on, making sure Serena had put hers on too. She was wearing a strange, soft expression. "What?" he asked her. She was such a hard woman that softness was an unusual expression to see in her. It usually meant one of four things: either she was exceptionally worried, she was drunk, she was in love all over again or she was in pain. Today he guessed it was a mixture of worry and love.

"Never change, Edward Campbell," she ordered him gently. She reached out and pulled him into a quick kiss. "Never change."

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**Hope this is OK, and makes some sense!  
Please feel free to leave me a review and tell me your thoughts!  
Sarah x**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is going back to the story set at the present time; sorry if it's confusing. There is a reason I shouldn't write when I'm tired. Thanks again to everyone who has been reading and reviewing!**

**Sarah x**

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Edward woke Jac up gently. She stirred quietly but she wore a demanding look, expecting an explanation as to why she was no longer asleep. "Do you want to go into theatre with Serena? She needs someone to look after cardio."

"Sure, if it gets me away from Maconie and his cotton wool," Jac grumbled as she stood up. She did not seem impressed by Jonny's behaviour and, despite the good intention behind it, it seemed to be well and truly getting on her nerves now. He did not envy Jonny Maconie right now.

"He means well," Edward pointed out, knowing himself how protective he had been of his wife and unborn child all those years ago. Looking back, he was forced to acknowledge he had often gone overboard, but he had had very little control over it.

"Doesn't make it any less annoying."

"Fair enough," Edward admitted, guiding her to theatre. "You know he loves you though." Jac's head whipped around but Edward pleaded ignorant innocence. It was with a self-satisfied smirk that he distracted himself from his fear by winding the women up. What worried him was the it had poured down in the early hours of that morning, so the ground already saturated, the river already full and the pavements already pooled with rain water.

As he entered the theatre, leaving Jac to scrub in, he could have sworn he heard the walls rattling. He had to remind himself that this was Britain, where the wind alone could not pull a building to the ground. He glanced around to find the pale walls still and, he hoped, safe.

"Relax," Serena warned him. "It's OK."

"I remember a time it was my job to tell you that," he sighed. "When did the roles get reversed?" he wondered aloud.

Serena looked up from her patient and replied, "You know when." He nodded curtly and set about his work, but he couldn't help but listen carefully, even though he knew that realistically they would not hear anything from this theatre. There were no windows. There was only one exit, unless he counted the vent above them.

"Stop surveying," Serena ordered him bluntly. "You'll only wind yourself up."

"Sorry."

Just then, Jac walked in, apparently oblivious to his anxieties, and Serena's too. "At least if I'm here then Jonny can fuss over someone else for a while. I swear, if he doesn't tone it down I will make damn sure he never fathers another child."

Edward had to grin; he could see in the redhead's expression that she was deadly serious, and he remembered Serena making a similar threat to him. He had felt an inexplicable need to protect her, though it might have had something to do with the state of his mind at that point. He had not been in a good place, convinced he was going to lose his family.

"You think Jonny's overdoing it?" Serena snorted. "You should have seen Satan here when I was pregnant with Eleanor."

"Oh, yeah?" Jac grinned.

Edward realised Serena was about to tell tales on him but he didn't really mind. It was testament to how they had once loved each other, and how they had once defended each other fiercely.

"Spent most of his time watching me like a hawk, and when we weren't together he was climbing the walls," Serena explained. "Nightmare." He met Serena's eyes and saw a softness in her eyes that he hadn't seen in years; he knew it was only because she was thinking of happier times – namely when she hadn't hated his guts – but he liked to see it nonetheless.

Edward smirked. "You can't deny that you took advantage of that thought," he retorted to her. "Sending me to the kitchen every hour."

"Yeah, Mum never was too happy about the mess you made when you cooked," she reminisced. "Remember that time she threatened to make you sleep in the shed if the kitchen wasn't spotless when she came out the bath?"

Edward laughed. "I felt like a naughty ten-year-old."

"My mum does tend to have that effect, doesn't she?"

"You lived with your mum while you were pregnant?" Jac interjected curiously.

"Long story," Edward muttered darkly. He didn't want to go into detail about how they had ended up living with Adrienne for six months; it was not a happy tale, and it was one he hated to tell. He felt Serena's eyes burning into him, searching for a way in.

The telecom beeped, and Mary-Claire's sweet Irish voice came through. "We're evacuating."

"What?" Serena snapped. "Why?"

"The river's burst its banks. Spilled onto the flood plain," Mary-Claire explained. "The river's gonna surge and we don't know how close to the hospital it's gonna come."

Edward gave a short laugh of disbelief. "You can't be telling me some idiot built this place on a flood plain, can you?"

"British logic for you," the young redhead smiled. "Anyway. Anyone who can be is being discharged and we're sending all we can to St. James'. Obviously we can't really completely empty the building but..." she trailed away. It was making Edward uneasy. It was disturbing to realise that the lack of preparation in this country could cause as much disaster from an abnormal storm as a full-scale hurricane would in America. "There's another thing. We need some skeleton staff."

"Count me in," Serena immediately volunteered; it was not in her nature to shy away from trouble and hardship, and she would always be the first to sign up to help in a dire situation.

Edward's incessant need to ensure Serena's safety forced him to say against his will, "I'm staying." Mary-Claire's expression told him she knew he was staying only because Serena was.

"Me too," Jac added.

"Miss Naylor," Mary-Claire dared to address her. "Don't you think you'd best go home?"

Edward suppressed a smile as Jac turned to face the nurse, her eyes dangerously cold. "And what use would I be at home when there are people who need help here?" she challenged. Thankfully, Mary-Claire seemed to know better than to argue with her. "Who else is staying?"

"Ms. Effanga, Nurse Maconie," she replied, and Jac's face drained white at the mention of her child's father. "Nurse Lane and Dr. Digby have volunteered to keep an eye on Keller. The bottom floor is out main concern though. I was gonna call Hanssen too."

"No," Serena objected with more force than Edward had expected. It betrayed just how worried she really was. "Nobody gets in. Not even Hanssen. He's not in danger now and I'm not going to put anyone in harm's way unnecessarily. Do you understand me?"

"Of course," the nurse replied. "You're the boss."

As Mary-Claire left them, Edward sighed, "Primary Defence it is then."

"Looks like. So much for two birds with one stone," Serena agreed, changing her approach to the surgery completely. The original plan been to deal with the liver and the heart in one operation, but that was out the window now. It was one of her greatest strengths, to adapt in adversity. "You know you don't have to stay, Edward," she added. Jac remained silent but Edward felt her scrutinising the situation.

"I made you a promise," he muttered, slightly embarrassed that he was still upholding it. But that promise meant more to him than anything else he had ever said. "I intend to keep it."

Neither woman said anything, and he was well aware that he had successfully stunned them both into silence. Had Serena forgotten that he had promised never to let her come into danger again? He had allowed it once and it almost cost them both their lives. He would not stand back and let that happen again. He had to put his own fear to one side and shield Serena from all he could. At the moment, it seemed he would end up doing the same for Jac; it was something he was more than willing to do.

Half an hour later, they were scrubbing out of theatre, the patient being wheeled back to the ward. "You know, I bet this is just a typical British overreaction," Jac sighed impatiently. "River surge," she snorted. "The pressure can't possibly be low enough to cause a tidal surge. Can it?" she added; she suddenly sounded less than convinced.

Edward spun at a tiny sound, seeing a drip of water on the lino floor. He looked up and saw a patch of damp that hadn't been there an hour ago. He looked at the clock; it had been raining now for four hours with a break. "You don't think the rain's getting between our ceiling. and their floor, do you?" he fretted, staring at the six inch patch on the ceiling.

"I don't see how," Jac answered, standing next to him. "It's solid, isn't it?"

"Is the rain horizontal?" Serena asked.

"Yeah," Edward replied. "The wind's been getting up quite quickly. How far is the river from here?"

"About a quarter of a mile. It meanders near the north side of the hospital," Jac informed them. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine."

Edward glanced at Serena. He had said that once too. It hadn't been fine. And he could see now that Serena was actually frightened of what might come. They walked onto AAU together, observing that half the patients were gone, along with most of the staff. It felt eerie and deserted as they crossed to the nurses' station.

Jac sat down. "Not much we can do, is there?" she groaned.

Edward went to look out the window; the orange lights revealed a swollen river on the other side of the car park, spilling out onto the tar. People were leaving promptly, getting in cars and on buses as they tried to get away from where water was a very real threat. This was no tropical hurricane, but circumstance left them vulnerable and he didn't like it. The river was rough, the rainwater building up on the already saturated ground as it fell down the size of pebbles.

He walked away from the window and got out his phone, deciding to text his daughter: _Are you OK?_

After a minute or so of nervous waiting, his phone beeped. _Yeah. Are you and Mum having a good time? :P_

_ Funny ;) keep indoors and keep the radio on. If they tell you do anything, do it_, he replied anxiously. He knew Eleanor would not take kindly to being bossed around, but she was also wise and intelligent enough to do what he said.

_OK. You and Mum be careful :)_

_ We always are :P_

He attempted to keep the conversation lighthearted but he could see in Serena's face that she knew who he was texting, and the basic line of what he was ordering their daughter to do. Serena allowed him a small, frightened smile and wandered over to the window to see how things were outside. He observed her carefully, trying to gauge how anxious she was. She was tense, definitely, as she paced the ward restlessly. Was she trying to find a plan to keep them all safe? Or was she merely trying to keep herself in check so as not to panic anyone?

He watched as Jac stood up and walked to see what Serena was seeing. A look of horror spread like rapid poison across their faces. "Everyone, get down!" Serena ordered at the top of her voice. Edward immediately hit the floor, kneeling with his back against the front of the nurses' station.

He heard the crash of water smashing through the windows, flooding onto the ward and drenching him. The force of the water knocked his balance completely away. His ears rang with the silence left behind as he waded himself upright through the foot and a half of water. "So much for no surge, Jac," he groaned, wiping the water away from his face. "Wait," he said, looking around the ward. "Jac? Mary-Claire? _Serena_?!"

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**Hope this is OK! And I do hope it makes _some_ form of sense!  
Please feel free to leave me a review and tell me your thoughts!  
Sarah x**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello. I've had such a crap day. This might just seem like a silly little scene but it's the base for the Georgia story, if that make sense! Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed - love you all!**

**Sarah x**

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**June 19****th**** 1994**

Serena woke up in Georgia for the first time, surrounded by unopened boxes and her husband's strong arms. She didn't really know what she had been so afraid of; she was in the best place she had been in years. She had a potentially brilliant job. She had a loving husband. She had a large, comfortable home. She had money in her bank account. Her position was enviable, and she knew it, but she felt like it could fall apart with the slightest touch in the wrong direction.

She sighed and fell into him, her blanket of the world, protecting her from the hard ground below. She had been wary of moving to Macon; part of her wanted to go home, wherever that was. She had spent so long in America that it now felt like her home, but she knew where her family was, and it wasn't here. It was back in Britain. But her life was here now, and nothing was going to change that.

The sun poured through the curtains as Serena kissed her sleeping husband's temple. She was lucky he put up with her madness, and she didn't know how he did it half the time. Some of her mood swings were more than she herself would put up with.

She was not a soft person, nor was she weak, but she found her eyes stinging with tears. Perhaps she was just tired. Or perhaps she was actually frightened of what lay ahead. She could not shake the feeling that this was just too perfect to be real. There was a shadow looming over her and she couldn't work out what the darkness was.

With that in mind she allowed her eyes to shut, still trying understand why she felt so badly about this move. It wasn't Edward – if anything, she needed him with her. It wasn't the job – that was a walk in the park. And it wasn't the distance from her family – she'd learned to cope with that years ago. But it was there and it was making her chest feel tight as she stressed over it all. Whatever _it_ was.

She felt Edward stirring and so feigned sleep knowing that he would only get out of bed if she was; they both needed the rest after all the packing and the driving and the almost-unpacking. They had given up after an hour last night, opting to just make the bed, get a takeaway and go to sleep.

"I love you," she heard Edward whisper, obviously thinking she was sleeping. She didn't open her eyes, deciding instead to let him get off his chest whatever he was thinking. "I don't understand why you married me, or what you see in me, but I'm so glad you do. I don't know where I'd be without you."

She felt his face against her neck, his breath warm against her skin. He was warm while she became more frigid, trying to dissect what she was so wary of. She tried to force logic on the situation but it only sent her mind spinning in and endless circle of 'who, what, where, when, why.'

If she was to say anything to Edward again, he would only try and talk her out of it. He might even succeed. But caution had always been a friend to her. Though it had always served her well in the past, sometimes it had simultaneously got her in trouble. And while she was good at getting into trouble, she often struggled to get out of it.

Regardless, she wrapped an arm across Edward's stomach and laid her head on his chest, wanting the comfort of knowing he was there for her without the danger of him convincing her to dismiss her worries. She would not dismiss it, just in case there was some, _any_, basis to her anxieties.

His fingers fell into her hair and she let out a soft sigh. She could have lay here all day, but there was a house needing unpacked and an unfamiliar area they needed to become familiar with. She reluctantly opened her eyes and found Edward's immediately. "Good morning," she sighed.

"Morning," he smiled, pressing a kiss onto her lips. His smile soon faded; it was clear he had seen her frustration in her face, and she should have known better than to think she could hide it from her husband. He knew her too well for that. "What's up, hmm? You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Serena looked away, trying to find the words that wouldn't make her sound like a coward or a fool.

In the end she settled for a demand. "Just promise me, Edward, that if anything happens to us – _ever_ – we'll stick together. Promise me you'll stand by me," she asked of him.

"Do you even need to ask that?" he challenged. "Of course I would."

She allowed a little pained smile; she was not very good the whole marriage thing. It was founded upon trust, something that never had come easily to her. It was a promise to uphold and rely on one another, the latter of which she was unfailingly terrible at. "Thank you," she said.

He was unflinching in his promise, and his grip on her was firm but soft, his arms warm around her body. She didn't understand why he had married her in the first place; he had always been out for good fun and, while she could have a good time, she always put a stop to it before it got out of hand. But Edward loved it when it all kicked off, police and all. The number of times the police had been called to the bars he had been drinking in was unreal, and he was always innocent. So he claimed, at least. She was willing to bet he was often anything but innocent.

But he had married her, and he loved her. She knew that. She just couldn't help but wonder how long it would take him to get bored of being settled. It was silly and if she said it aloud it would probably sound mad, but she was scared of losing him to his ways. The things she loved most about him were scaring her to death, because she knew how powerful these things were within him. Were they more powerful than whatever love he felt for her?

He was still holding her tightly when she remembered she was to start her new job tomorrow morning. That didn't bother her. Not in the slightest. She knew her place in a hospital. It was just unfortunate that she was never able to find her place in any other situation.

"We have to get up," she moaned unwillingly. "Come on," she added with a pat on his chest. "The house can't stay like this forever, now, can it?"

He grumbled something about nagging wives so she threw her slipper at the back of his head. "Ow!" he protested. She just grinned and wandered through to figure out how the shower worked.

An hour later, they were drinking coffee and eating toast, Serena trying to plan the day out in her head. But it was one of _those_ days, where a plan was useless and would probably be abandoned within an hour. So she gave up as she washed her plate under the tap.

"Why don't we go and meet the neighbours? See if they're going to terrorise us," Edward grinned. How could he be so relaxed and smiley after moving halfway across the United States? She was exhausted and uptight; it wasn't fair how he could just smile his way through life while she struggled to make much sense of the world around her. He let the breeze take him wherever it wanted while she pushed against the wind in an effort to force a path for herself.

She sighed but followed him to the front door, dodging stupidly placed boxes as she did so. Whatever logic they had used last night had clearly been flawed.

They stepped outside, the sun hotter than she had been expecting. She looked around; they were at the end of a row of detached houses. Next door was obviously a family, if the swings and slide and pool were anything to go by. Just then, out stepped a young redheaded woman with a full laundry basket and two little girls – twins – in tow.

"Ginger ninja," Edward whispered with a wicked smile. Serena slapped his stomach with the back of her hand.

"One of these days, you'll say that to someone and they'll knock your head off your shoulders," she warned him.

"Let me guess," Edward smirked. "You'd let them do it but catch my head so it doesn't hit the ground."

"No," she replied. "I'd help them."

"Well, Mrs. Campbell," he said in mock outrage. "That isn't very nice!" She felt his hands wandering to her sides and realised what he was going to do and tried to wriggle away. But she was not quick enough and his arms wrapped around her, squeezing her back into his front as he kissed her neck.

She had to laugh at his childishness. "Edward!" she tried to tell him off, but it came out in a rather undignified squeal. The young woman turned around and smiled slightly before going back to hanging out the washing. She had to be about twenty-five or so, her skin radiantly pale, her eyes bright blue and her red hair thick and curly. She turned again at the sound of her child's laughter, again with a smile.

She walked up to the fence and asked, "You guys just moved in?" Her accent was thick and sweet.

"Yeah," Serena smiled. "I'm Serena. This idiot's my husband, Edward," she added, though she smiled when she said it.

"I'm Tammy, and these are my girls, Trisha and Kayla," she replied with a smile. "You'll love it here. Really quiet. My husband works at the hospital – he's a junior doctor there," she explained.

Serena laughed disbelievingly. "I'm starting there tomorrow. General surgery," she smiled.

"Oh, that's what Callan is doing," Tammy said. "You might have to work with him. I'll warn you, he likes a joke. Plays pranks on the newbies." Edward laughed, but Serena wasn't keen on this idea. But the how bad could one young man really be? She could handle him.

"Believe me," Edward chuckled. "He wouldn't dare. Junior doctors hide from Serena. They build underground forts and sound alarms when she's due on the ward," he joked.

"I'm not _that_ bad," Serena quickly defended herself. Edward liked to make her out to be evil dictator material, but she was really just trying to help the young ones grow a backbone and a thick skin – that way they could deal with just about any patient when they remembered they had qualified under Serena Campbell and survived. So yes, she could make their lives a nightmare, but she did it for the right reasons.

Tammy was laughing. "I'm sure you're not, Serena," she agreed. "You've got a kind face."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. "Finally someone who believes me and not him," she jabbed her thumb at her husband. "Right, we had better deal with all this unpacking. If you hear screaming, don't be alarmed. It'll be because I've killed my husband."

"Can you tell she hates unpacking?" Edward added.

"Little bit," Tammy grinned. "OK then. You guys need anything, just ask!" With that she returned to her children and laundry, smiling to herself at her new neighbours. What was she thinking? Serena couldn't help but feel that Edward had made her sound awful, but Tammy seemed not to believe him, thankfully. Ugh. Husbands.

"Such a good first impression you make," Serena grouched at Edward.

"True though," he pointed out as they walked back inside out of the sun. "You're terrifying," he teased her, holding her from behind, his hands resting on her hips.

Serena smiled. "Shut up."

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**Hope this is OK!  
Please feel free to leave me a review and tell me your thoughts!  
Sarah x**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Back to the present! And thanks as always to everyone who is reading and reviewing!**

**Sarah x**

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Jonny felt the floor shake and looked around at his best friend. "What was that?!" he demanded of Mo. He went to look out the window, only to find the ground flooded; he couldn't make out just how deep the water was from here but he couldn't shake the feeling that something had just happened downstairs.

"I don't know," Mo replied. "It sounded like...a wave?"

"I'm going to see what's happened," Jonny decided. "I've got my phone."

He ran off the ward before Mo could put a stop to it, diving through the door onto the staircase. Jac had muttered something about finding sanity with the Campbells on AAU, and if there was indoor flooding, she might be caught up in it all. Not to mention Edward and Serena; as much as Serena terrified him, he didn't want anything to happen to her or her ex-husband. And as much as Serena loved to pretend she despised Edward, Jonny was certain she wanted him alive. And as for Jac...he could only pray that nothing had happened to her.

He reached the landing and gasped when he saw the state of the place. The water was level with the second or third stair up, rising as he carefully took the next step down. He carefully pulled out his mobile and phoned the first person he thought of in this situation: Henrik Hanssen.

After two rings, the Swede answered somewhat sleepily, "Hello, Nurse Maconie. What's wrong?"

"Um," Jonny hesitated, trying to think of a way to describe the scene in front of him. "Right, don't panic, but AAU is flooded. Like proper flooded."

Sounding more awake, Hanssen replied, "How high is the water?"

"Um, maybe a foot and a half. Two feet, even?" he made a guess as he took a tentative step forward. "I know Ms. Campbell, Dr. Campbell, Nurse Carter and Miss Naylor are on AAU. I don't who else is there."

"Alright. Do you know if anyone's hurt?" asked Hanssen, and Jonny could hear him getting out of bed.

"I don't think the doors will open with the pressure," Jonny reasoned. "But I'm willing to give it a shot," he added. He placed his foot in the water and stepped forward until the floodwater was up to his thighs.

"I'm coming, Jonny," Hanssen assured him, and he was taken aback slightly that the ice cold Swede had called him by his first name. "If you can, get everyone out. Try and make sure you get Miss Naylor out."

"Aye," Jonny agreed. He waded with caution through the water, trying to see if there were any obstacles before him. The lights above flickered and there was an eerie silence broken only by the clicking of the struggling circuit overhead. He got to the doors and managed to force them open. "Miss Naylor seems OK," he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Jac being helped to her feet by Edward Campbell. "So is Dr. Campbell."

"That's good at least," Hanssen said, and Jonny heard the mix of worry and relief in the man's voice.

"Nurse Carter has hurt her wrist but seems otherwise alright," Jonny attested. "And Ms. Campbell," he said, searching for Serena. When he saw her he followed his first instinct to push through the flood to her and take her pulse.

"Ms. Campbell?" he vaguely heard Hanssen remind him.

"Um, she's unconscious," Jonny admitted. He heard Hanssen's breath catch briefly at the news that his colleague was knocked out. "She's breathing. Pulse is about seventy. Edward!" he shouted over to the man who was looking at Mary-Claire's arm. "How long's she been like this?"

"Who?!" he called back distractedly.

"Serena!" Jonny told him. At this, Edward's head whipped around. He made his way over to bend over and look down on his ex-wife.

"She was talking a minute ago," he explained. "She was fine!"

"Well, she's clearly not now, is she?!" Jonny barked impatiently. Jac came to observe but Jonny halted her. "You're getting out of here just as soon as we've worked out what's wrong with Serena," Jonny informed her sternly in an attempt to protect his unborn child and the woman carrying her. He had forgotten he was on the phone until the line went dead. He turned to a put-out looking Jac and asked of her, "Can you find somewhere safe and dry to put my phone? I'm assuming all yours will be dead by now."

Jac took it and wiped the end of the nurses' station with the bottom of her scrub top before placing his phone carefully down. She then cleared whole desk. "Edward, how tall is Serena?" she shouted over.

"Five-seven, five-eight, maybe," he said.

"Right, she should fit on here," Jac decided. "We get her up here, then we get the patients out," she added assertively. Jonny knew better than to argue with her and so felt below the surface for Serena's legs; Edward gripped her under the arms and they managed to get her up onto the nurses' station that Jac had cleared of debris.

"I don't get it," Edward fretted. "She was absolutely fine, wasn't she, Mary-Claire?!" he asked the Irish nurse, who nodded. Jac nodded as well, agreeing that Serena had been awake and presumably bossing them around from the floor. "She wasn't complaining of any pain or any injuries."

"Yeah, but unless it's to do with you, Edward, she doesn't complain very much," Mary-Claire reasoned fairly, resting her injured hand on her shoulder to try and prevent the swelling getting any worse. "Check for a source of blood loss," she suggested.

Jonny obeyed and started examining her legs as Jac examined her abdomen, Edward standing there like a spare part, apparently terrified that she was going to die. They found nothing, leading Jonny to believe there had been some sort of trauma sustained to her head. "I should know my own wife better than to believe she's OK when she says she is," Edward berated himself. Jonny turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. "Sorry. Ex-wife. But still! I know her better than that!"

"Don't beat yourself up," Jac ordered Edward firmly, though with an unusual kindness she never normally displayed. "There's a lot going on. She's probably hit her head."

That had been Jonny's theory too, but he was reluctant to say so in front of an already worked up Edward. "We have to get her out of here," Edward said. As he said it, Serena stirred. Jonny held onto her in case she rolled off the table. They couldn't test her in every way he knew Jac and Edward wanted her tested, because a lot of the medical equipment had been ruined, but the basic tests could still be carried out.

"What's going on?" Serena muttered, covering her eyes from the light. "Oh, God," she moaned. "The surge...is everyone OK?"

"Never mind about us, Serena," Mary-Claire said kindly. "We're in better shape than you."

"Your arm, Mary-Claire," Serena said, a maternal worry crossing her face.

"Don't bother about it. We need to get the four patients that are still here out, and you and Jac need to get out as well," the young nurse said strictly, but it was soon apparent that Serena wasn't having it; Jonny agreed with Mary-Claire that Serena needed out of here, but he knew she was too hell bent on being hard headed to listen to reason on the matter.

Serena sat up carefully. "I'm OK."

"Where are you?" Edward immediately asked her.

"AAU in Holby City Hospital, ready to kick your arse for asking stupid questions," Serena snapped impatiently. Jonny caught Jac's eye and had to stifle a snigger. "Look, it's September 2013, you're my ex-husband, that's Jac, Jonny and Mary-Claire, David Cameron is Prime Minister, and we have a job to do. Happy?"

"No," Edward retorted sourly.

"What a surprise," she sneered. She hopped off the desk and splashed Jonny as her feet plunged through the water. He was about to protest but the glare she shot him put him off the idea.

"Serena," Jac sighed. "We don't even know why you fell unconscious. Don't you think you need a proper looking over?"

"I probably just smacked my head. If so, I've hit my head harder and been perfectly alright," Serena said. Her tone was not one any of the four of them were willing to argue with. "OK. Mary-Claire, you need to get a cast on that wrist so I want you out of here and straight to St. James'. Got it?"

Mary-Claire looked less than pleased but seemed to know better than to try and win an argument with Serena Campbell. "OK," she sighed.

Serena nodded; it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was in charge. Even Edward, the one person who had a hope in hell of getting off with it, wasn't trying to stop her. "Jac, you're pregnant so I want you out here with the patients."

Jonny closed his eyes, knowing _exactly_ what was about to happen. "I'm not leaving here until you, Jonny and Edward do."

"Jac," Serena growled. Jonny was startled to hear just how protective Serena actually could be.

"No," Jac argued. "I'm in a better state than you and Edward put together!"

"Hey!" the divorced couple protested loudly.

"Serena, you've it your head and Edward's as jumpy as Jonny is when he's told he has to cook a proper meal," Jac reasoned. "I can't trust you to look out for each other. It's not that you don't want to look after each other," she added when they both opened their mouths to argue. "I know you do. But one of you might have a head injury and one has obvious issues with storms and floods."

Now that Jac mentioned it, Edward definitely was not himself. His eyes were darting around nervously, as if waiting for another surge or for the ward to collapse on top of him. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Jac was right – they needed her. She was the only one assertive and nervy enough to stand up to them. Jonny definitely didn't have it in him to go against Serena's wishes when she was in a fit state to rip him apart for it.

Jonny jumped when a familiar ringtone pierced the tense silence. "It's Mo," Jac told him as she passed it over to him.

"Hello," Jonny answered it.

"Jonny Mac," Mo sighed, sounding relieved to hear his voice. "What's going on?"

"AAU's been washed out. Serena said something about a surge," he explained. "We're going to get the patients out. Will you be OK by yourself on Darwin?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll call the emergency services for you, OK? Have you called Hanssen?"

"Aye, on his way as we speak."

"OK. Everything's gonna be alright."

"I hope so," Jonny answered her, trying to dispel the dread building up inside him. "I'll see you once everyone's out."

"OK. See ya!"

He hung up and turned to his colleagues. "Which of this lot is most capable of walking? I'll take them out," Jonny said to Serena, jabbing his thumb backwards towards the patients.

"Kara Donald," Edward answered quickly. "I'll go and get her." Edward pushed through the water, leaving Jonny with Serena and Jac, who looked like they both wanted to slap sense into one another. He saw it from both points of view; the bottom line was that Jac was protecting Serena and Serena was protecting Jac, but both were too proud to accept that.

"Mary-Claire," Jonny addressed the young woman. "You come with us. Once we're out we can help from that end."

"But we don't know what it's like beyond the stairs," she argued.

"Come on," Jonny smiled at her. "Take a leap of faith." She smiled back at him and walked around Serena, who caught her arm.

"Be careful," the older woman said anxiously. Jonny looked away briefly, unnerved slightly to see this side to Serena Campbell when she usually walked around terrorising this place and all who crossed her.

Mary-Claire nodded. "You too." She hugged Serena tight. "I know you don't like me, but I think you're not half as bad as you like to pretend you are."

The expression on Serena's face was a picture as Jonny turned to Jac. He instinctively pulled her into a tight cuddle, just as Mary-Claire had done to Serena. He was surprised when she returned the embrace and she kissed his jaw lightly. "Look after yourself," she warned him.

"Of course," he smiled. He saw Edward and Kara – a girl of about twenty – approach. She was capable of walking, though he doubted it would be unaided for long. He took her hand and felt Mary-Claire approach at his side. He did not look back as they forced the door open once more and waded their way down the hall, turning into the corridor.

The silence was again eerie as it was broken by a creaking sound. "What's that?" Mary-Claire asked. Jonny glanced up to see the ceiling was cracked, water dripping out of it.

"We have to keep going," he told her, pulling her forward by her uninjured hand. "How did you hurt your wrist?"

"Must've went over it when we all ducked for cover," she shrugged. That creaking noise was loud in the silence again, but this time Jonny didn't have time to look up. He didn't have time to do anything. There was a deafening crash before he was knocked into the water, the weight of the shattered ceiling forcing him down.

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**Hope this is OK!  
Please feel free to drop me a review and tell me what you think of it!  
Sarah x**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Back to 1994 :P thanks as always to everyone who has read and reviewed so far :)**

**Sarah x**

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**July 5th 1994**

"In other news, Tropical Storm Alberto has finally moved north of Florida and should pass over the state in the next twenty-four hours, bringing unsettled weather as the depression fades out," the radio reporter told the county. "Expect heavy rain and high winds. It's not expected to cause any damage, though anyone living or working near the banks of the Ocmulgee River is asked to be aware of the risk of flooding."

"Oh, joy," Serena muttered, pouring milk into her coffee, listening to the pounding of the rain against the window, the wind, as predicted, gradually becoming stronger. "Hear that, darling?!" she shouted through to her husband. "We're being told to keep an eye out until Alberto passes. Trust us to buy a house on the river in a bloody hurricane state."

"Don't panic," he called back to her. "It's just passing through."

"Guess so," she agreed. "Ugh. Why did I agree to the backshift?" she muttered to herself.

The doorbell rang and sighed, throwing down the cheese grater with an internal rant to herself about how she was never able to make tea uninterrupted. She opened the door to reveal Tammy and her children. "Serena," she said. "Do you think you could babysit for a couple of hours? I need to go to the store and set up the guest room and dig all that stuff out of the basement...I can't concentrate with these two bickering," she rambled on. Her young face was tired and hassled. "Callan's parents are coming to town and they haven't told me until now. They hate me as it is. _Please_, Serena."

Serena groaned. She had to be at work by nine tonight, and it was already seven. But she looked at Tammy's face and decided she didn't have it in her to refuse a young mother some help. "Alright, alright. Come in, honey," she said, letting herself slip into the Southern familiarities she had slipped into after only a fortnight living in Macon.

"Who is it?" Edward shouted from the bedroom.

"Tammy!" Serena shouted. "Edward, as fascinating as the Simpson family must be, can you please come and help me make tea? I'd like to eat sometime before next Christmas!" She heard him grumbling about just coming off shift himself and rolled her eyes at Tammy. "Men."

"Don't get me started," Tammy warned. "When I get hands on Callan, he's a dead man walking."

"Would you like me to provide him with the double shift from hell?" Serena asked with a grin. "Easily done. I can make him scrub the operating theatre with a toothbrush?"

"When he gets home, he'll be cleaning the toilet with a toothbrush. I don't care if it's four am," she replied darkly.

Serena felt arms around her waist and a kiss against her neck; she couldn't help but smile, despite the fact she knew she looked like a soppy teenager. She elbowed him in the stomach but he only held her tighter and she could almost feel the smugness radiating from him.

"I'd better get going," Tammy sighed. She took a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her thick red curls into a bushy ponytail. "You two," she knelt down to Trisha and Kayla. "Be good for Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, OK? I'll be back soon."

"Love you, Mommy!" they chorused brightly.

"I love you too," Tammy grinned, kissing both their cheeks. She half-ran out the door without another word, and Edward bent down and picked Trisha up.

"Have you had your dinner yet?" he asked her. The little girl nodded her head, and her twin reached up for Serena, apparently wanting to be held like her sister. It took Serena a matter of seconds to give in and lift Kayla. She knew it probably didn't help the child's discipline, but she couldn't bring herself not to.

"Mrs. Campbell," Kayla piped up. "May I have a drink?"

"Call me Serena," she smiled back. "And call him Edward," she added with a nod to her husband. "Of course you can have a drink, darling. What would you like?"

"Juice!" Trisha butted in.

"Milk!" Kayla added. She and Edward both set the children down again and went to the fridge. Edward quietly took over making tea and left her to deal with the children.

Forty minutes later, Serena and Edward sat on the sofa with the girls playing at their feet. "Do you think you'd ever want kids?" Edward asked quietly, smiling down on Kayla and Trisha. The question froze Serena; children were not high on her list of priorities but she knew there was some part of her deep down that did want to be a mother.

"I don't know," she said. "Guess I wouldn't mind it. Not saying I'd be very good at it though," she added.

"Rubbish. You'd be a great mum," he replied, patting her leg lightly. The shrill sound of the phone rang through the house. "I'll get it," he said before she could even put her plate down. She watched him carefully, never failing to be amazed by Edward's kind nature and the ability to say what was needed in any situation.

When he returned it was with an uncharacteristic frown upon his optimistic face. "What's up?" she asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"It was Tammy, asking if we would meet her at Walmart. She hasn't got enough room in her car for everything she's bought," he explained. Serena sighed. This was going to be a _long_ night. "I don't know why Callan's mum and dad couldn't just phone ahead. It's not fair to leave Tammy to do all this."  
Serena took Kayla by the hand and picked up the car keys. "To be fair, it sounds like Callan didn't even know they were coming."

"Parents, eh? What can we do with them?" he grinned, strapping Trisha into the back seat.

"More importantly, what would we do _without_ them?"

Edward laughed and got in the passenger side, remembering it was Serena's turn to drive. It was pounding with rain already, just as the radio had said. "Here was me thinking Britain got rough weather," she sighed. She looked at her watch briefly; it was already nearly eight and she was working in less than an hour. At least it was the nightshift and so the head of department would not be there. In fact, during the night she was in charge, and she loved the freedom that came with.

She drove up the road and as she approached the bridge she noticed just how swollen the river was. She didn't like this. She stopped at the bridge. "What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"Nothing," she said; she put the car in gear and cautiously took her foot off the clutch, trying to avoid thinking of the rushing river below. "Bloody Ocmulgee," she muttered. "Who even calls a river that?"

She got to the other side and stopped to calm her nerves; why she had got so uptight, she was unsure. Perhaps this was just her first 'real' experience with this kind of weather. She shouldn't have looked over to the river. Once her mind allowed it, she started to carefully drive onto I16, towards Walmart. The window behind her was open – she could feel the wind behind her, the occasional splash of water hitting against her skin.

She looked in the rear view mirror to find four-year-old happily putting herself out the window to feel the rain against her little hands.

"Kayla, close that window and put your seatbelt back on," Edward said firmly. Serena heard the little girl's protest and her sister yelling at her to 'be good.' She heard Edward's groan as he leaned across back of her seat in an effort to wind the window up.

She suddenly felt a knock to the car from the passenger side...the water was rushing onto the road almost like a wave. "Edward," she whispered. "I think the levee's broken."

"Kayla! Sit down!" Edward shouted in panic. The car moved, tipping back and forth as the engine stalled and the water rushed around them. It gave a hard knock to Edward's side and Serena felt herself toppling to the side with the car.

A scream.

A splash.

Serena's mind raced as she realised Kayla had fallen into the water. She fumbled for the seatbelt but it wouldn't come out, and she didn't have enough strength because she was holding her breath. Edward turned around to her, his face full of sheer terror as he had to make a choice between his wife and a child. She nodded at him, telling him to get Trisha out and find Kayla. He forced himself between the front seats, and she felt him touch her arm lovingly.

She grappled still with the seatbelt. She was relieved when Edward fairly easily freed Trisha and swam out the open window; she felt the strength draining from her arms, weak and lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. She willed herself not to breathe in. _You're tougher than this, Serena Campbell. Come on. Don't give in!_

She was beginning to fade when she finally managed to undo the seat belt, but she couldn't get in between the seats to the back window; she slammed her hands against the windows in vain, knowing full well how little good it would do. Fingers wrapped around her wrist, an arm around her waist.

Her shoulders smacked against the seats, and she felt a surge of pain as her collar bone snapped under the pressure. She had to remind herself not to scream when it hit the border of the window as he yanked her forcefully out of the car. He pulled her to the surface, an arm still around her waist. She breathed in. gasping for the air that burned her deprived lungs.

She looked around, seeing nothing but water and partially submerged trees and signs and lamp posts. She let out a huff of relief to see Trisha and Kayla hugging themselves to each post of a sign, though the twins looked scared out of their wits. She let Edward guide her over. "Everyone OK?" she shouted over the noise of the wind and the rain and water.

"Yeah, they're fine," Edward called back. Serena, terrified, planted a kiss into Trisha's hair when she reached her, Edward doing to same with Kayla. "I think I broke your collar bone!"

"Yeah, I think so," agreed Serena. "You've cut your head, darling," she informed him. His hand reached up to find the blood, his fingertips stained red when he pulled them away.

"I want Mommy!" Kayla shouted.

"Me too!" Trisha yelled.

"We'll find her!" Edward promised. "OK, we'll find her." Serena looked up from the children to find Edward looking less than convinced by his own vow. Serena knew that the flood would have reached Tammy by now, though hopefully not to the same extreme.

Serena shouted hopelessly, "What are we meant to do?! There's nobody here!"

"We wait!"

"We can't!" she pointed out. "What if the river surges? We're dead in a heartbeat!" she told him. She felt his panic and tried not to make him any worse; she looked around her but found no logic. Only water. Water and debris. She couldn't find a way to anything remotely helpful. Maybe Edward was right and they had to just wait for the inevitable rescue operations began.

She was starting to panic herself, watching pulses of rushing water passing through them, and she was wary that the trees were so close, having only managed to get to the edge of the road since the central railings were submerged. She was wary that Trisha was coughing like she was going to die. She was wary that her collar bone was an agony she was struggling to block out. She was wary that Kayla was growing weaker by the minute. She was wary that there was blood flowing from Edward's head.

"Do you think there's a..." he began. "Do you think..."

"Do I think what?!" she asked him, trying to keep focussed and conscious.

"Tammy..." he attempted to convey his fears – the ones that mirrored her own. Suddenly his eyes closed and he dropped like a dead weight below the surface.

"Edward!" she screamed in her terror, trying and failing to catch his arm, or any limb, as he sank.

* * *

**Hope this is alright!  
Please feel free to drop me a review and tell me your opinion!  
Sarah x**


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